Sports for social change - One Goal at Doha GOALS

Nov 17 / sports for development

Stefan Germann, Executive Director, One Goal and global nutrition expert was part of a task force of thought leaders, global captains of industry and political leadership at the recently concluded Doha GOALS conference -- a "Gathering of All Leaders in Sport" -- held from 3-5 November 2014, held in Doha, the host of the 2022 World Cup under the patronage of patronage of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Emir of Qatar, Doha GOALS ( which stands for Gathering of All Leaders in Sport), was founded in January 2012.

Each year, global leaders gather in Doha with top stakeholders – CEOs, government officials, athletes, NGOs, federation heads, urban developers, coaches, managers, and medical experts – to create partnerships and initiatives to tackle the most pressing social issues through plenary sessions, debates, and focused taskforces that enable constructive brainstorming and focused collaboration.

Running concurrently, across two days, Doha GOALS hosted a total of six taskforces – highly interactive small group discussions that will focus on defining tangible opportunities and solutions. Each Taskforce will produce a plan of action to guide the next steps that participants and their respective organizations can take to ensure success in the near and longer-term. Stefan Germann facilitated and led the task force titled "It takes a village" focussed on the role sports plays in bringing together and building a community - for children.

The session was very well attended with over 200 participants out of the over 1500 delegates. The brain power session aimed to do a rapid prioritization on key issues that Doha Goals should focus on in the realm of sports for development. Participants identified the area of peace building and health promotion as the two most critical issues to move forward. Stefan Germann, Executive Director One Goal was on the panel, presenting the One Goal campaign that was well received and contributed significantly that health promotion was identified by the 200 session participants as a priority for future sports for development investments.

Speaking about the follow up from the Task Force, Stefan Germann said, " One Goal proposed to Doha Goals as a follow up initiative to focus on the Global Calories Trading Scheme over the next 2 years, aiming to launch this global innovative nutrition financing at the Rio Olympics in 2016." The Global Calories Trading Scheme is a global technology platform in development by One Goal that facilitates the funding of innovative nutrition programmes while promoting a healthy lifestyle.